Warhammer: The End Times – Vermintide is a brand new first person cooperative action adventure title from independent developer Fatshark and the Swedish visual effects and animation production studio Bläck. Set in the End Times of the iconic Warhammer Fantasy world, Vermintide offers a mix of first person shooter and melee combat gameplay, as the Skaven uprising is in full affect. Players must journey through the countless hordes but is the dangerous journey one gamer will want to join? Read on to find out!
First of all it is best to touch on the subject that Vermintide is very reminiscent of Valve’s, much loved zombie title, Left for Dead. Players cooperatively make their way through set levels taking on hordes, battling special foes whilst following the path to safety. The similarities are there from the way players help downed comrades back up or share health packs to the way the special enemies attack players.
Vermintide doesn’t try to hide these features away or claim they are revolutionary. Instead, it uses these features in such a way that they fit seamlessly into the game and work with the additions such as unique heroes, something which was lacking in Left for Dead. One thing that stands out, as a fan of Games Workshop lore, is that none of the special units have been created solely for Vermintide. It just so happens that there are units in the End Times lore that fit enemy roles so well.
Missions are mostly linear in design; with there being one snaking path to follow through the whole level; although there are exceptions to this. Players will find it hard to really deviate from the intended direction of travel but this is actually beneficial in Vermintide: it helps the action flow smoothly and means there are only short lulls in excitement.
Some areas along the routes are of decent size, allowing players to kite the Skaven hordes around town squares or swamps. The level design also forces the players to keep moving through the Skaven infested territory. Coupling this with the dynamic spawn system, which can see Skaven coming from previous areas, creates a sense that nowhere is truly safe and the only way out is to keep push onwards. The immersion factor kicks in here with players constantly having to check behind them to make sure they aren’t going to become surrounded.
Loot is a big part of Vermintide and is separated into three distinctive categories: weapons, hats and trinkets. Obtained via a loot dice roll at the end of levels, players will receive a random reward each time. It is possible to influence the loot dice roll, giving higher chances for a better reward, by carrying Tomes to the end of levels or finding bonus Loot Die. These are often hidden slightly out of the way either on ledges or in hard to see chests. The only issue is that they can be found in the same place when replaying a level. Gameplay wise holding onto a Tome puts the player at a slight disadvantage, as Tomes have to be held in the health potion slot so regenerating health cannot be done on the fly. Therefore, this adds a nice trade-off between the ease of completing a level and the chance of a better reward.
Interestingly for a game that offers up to four player cooperative play, Vermintide has five unique heroes for gamers to choose from. This is actually quite thoughtful of Fatshark as it means that even the last player to join can have a choice and isn’t consigned to the only character left. In other coop titles, where different characters only offer a visual change, this matters not. Conversely, in Vermintide each hero allows gamers to experience the 13 levels in a slightly differing ways. The playable heroes, an Empire Solider, Witch Hunter, Dwarf Ranger, Waywatcher and Bright Wizard, are all interesting to play due to the way players will have to adapt their playstyle.
Sienna Fuegonasus, the Bright Wizard, for instance is best at range; where players can rain fire onto groups of oncoming enemies. Conversely, Markus Kruber, the Empire Soldier, who does come equipped with a ranged gun can devastate whole hordes of Skaven with a single, well timed, swing of any of his double handed weapons: be it slicing or hammering through multiple enemies.
The most impressive part, resulting from the different characters, is that there are even sections of levels that are different in appearance for each of them. For example the Dwarf Ranger seeing a room full of piles of gold and the Waywatcher seeing a full on forest.
On top of having unique skillsets, each of our heroes has the ability to obtain a large set of weaponry. Arsenals will grow slowly but surely as gamers play through the game as after each level players get the chance for a loot drop. Ranging from swords and daggers to bows and magical staffs there are plenty of unique weapons to enjoy. Fatshark have commented that there are “hundreds” of weapons for players to obtain and with the fun factor of the game multiple playthroughs of all levels are sure to be made by many players. This is then furthered by the Forge system where players are able to combine five weapons of lesser quality to craft a single random superior quality weapon.
Despite being a cooperative game is you don’t have 3 friends to play with, it isn’t a huge problem. Not only does Vermintide have a drop in and out multiplayer system but gamers can also fill their four player teams with AI bots: allowing anyone to pick the game up and play with the feeling off either missing out or being a man down numbers wise. As often with this style of game, Vermintide is 100% playable and can be a lot of fun when played as a singleplayer title; nonetheless it does excel when multiple players get together to coop through levels.
Optimization wise the game is remarkably well designed. There are often 40 plus Skaven on the screen at once, with numerous particle effects and four characters all hacking their way through bloodied enemies: yet the game manages to give a consistent frame rate even on a moderate gaming PC. The UI has even been designed so that gamers running rigs capable of 4K can enjoy the game issue free.
Overall, while the storyline and lore is there for gamers to enjoy it is the cooperative gameplay against the hordes which sells Vermintide. With plenty of loot to unlock, players will be happy to spend time completing the 13 varied levels over and over again. As with Left for Dead the core mechanics result in a game that has immense replayability. If you are looking for a game to enjoy alone Vermintide can offer an fast paced and enjoyable experience but those looking for a coop experience for 2-4 players will be those who get most from the title.